Qualitative
spatial
conceptualizations
provide
a
relational,
human-­‐like
abstraction
and
interface
to
the
metrical
realities
of
the
physical
world.
Humans,
robots
and
systems
that
act,
and
interact,
are
embedded
in
space.
The
space
itself
undergoes
change
all
the
time,
typically
as
a
result
of
volitional
actions
performed
by
an
agent,
and
events
that
occur
in
the
environment.
Both
categories
of
occurrences
are
a
critical
link
to
the
external
world,
in
a
predictive
as
well
as
an
explanatory
sense:
our
anticipations
of
spatial
reality
conform
to
our
commonsense
knowledge
of
the
effects
of
actions
and
events
on
material
entities.
Similarly,
our
explanations
of
the
perceived
reality
too
are
established
on
the
basis
of
such
a priori
established
commonsense
notions.
We
reason
about
space,
actions
and
change
in
an
integrated
manner,
either
without
being
able
to
clearly
demarcate
the
boundaries
of
each
type
of
reasoning,
or
because
such
boundaries
do
not
exist
per
se.

In
this
talk,
I
will
position
such
integrated
representation
and
reasoning
about
space,
actions,
and
change
as
a
useful
paradigm
for
the
utilization
of
qualitative
spatial
representation
and
reasoning
techniques
in
relevant
application
domains.
The
talk
will
illustrate
demonstrations
from
domains
such
as
design,
cognitive
robotics,
geography,
and
smart
environments.

Bio for Mehul Bhatt

Mehul
Bhatt
is
a
senior
researcher
based
at
the
Cognitive
Systems
(CoSy)
research
group
within
the
Faculty
of
Informatics
at
the
University
of
Bremen,
Germany.
He
is
also
a
member
of
the
Spatial
Cognition
Center
(SFB/TR
8)
hosted
between
the
Universities
of
Bremen
and
Freiburg,
Germany.
Mehul
holds
doctorate
(computer
science)
and
masters
(IT)
degrees
from
La
Trobe
University
(Australia)
and
a
bachelors
degree
in
commerce
and
economics
from
(NM
College)
Mumbai
University
(India).
He
has
been
a
recipient
of
the
Alexander
von
Humboldt
Fellowship
(Germany),
a
German
Academic
Exchange
Service
(DAAD)
fellowship
and
an
Australian
Post
graduate
Award
(APA).

Mehul
Bhattfs
research
interests
and
publications
encompass
the
areas
of
spatiotemporal
reasoning,
commonsense
and
nonmonotonic
reasoning
as
applicable
to
space
and
time,
cognitive
robotics,
applied
ontology,
and
parallel
and
distributed
systems.
Mehulfs
research
addresses
applications
in
the
domains
of
Cognitive
Robotics,
Design
Computing
and
Intelligent
Design
Assistance,
Geographic
Information
Systems,
Medical
Information
Systems.
Mehul
Bhatt
has
been
a
co-organizer
/
editor
of
specialized
workshops
/
publications
in
the
area
of
spatial
and
temporal
reasoning,
spatiotemporal
dynamics,
ambient
intelligence,
and
design
computing.

Note for Visitors to SRI

Please arrive at least 10 minutes early as you will need to sign in by
following instructions by the lobby phone at Building E. SRI is located
at 333 Ravenswood Avenue in Menlo Park. Visitors may park in the parking
lots off Fourth Street. Detailed directions to SRI, as well as maps, are
available from the Visiting AIC web page.
There are two entrances to SRI International located on Ravenswood Ave.
Please check the Builing E entrance signage.